Migraines & headaches decisions — 2007

The Board has granted a 30 percent disability rating for the veteran's migraine headaches, resolving all reasonable doubt in his favor.

The Board has remanded the veteran's claims due to incomplete VA examinations, lack of VCAA notice, and need for additional medical evidence.

The veteran's service connection claim for fibromyalgia, manifested by joint pain, is granted. The remaining issues are remanded due to the need for proper VCAA notice and further medical examination.

The Board found that the veteran did not timely file a notice of disagreement regarding the June 13, 2002 RO determinations. The initial ratings assigned by the RO are upheld as the veteran's fibromyalgia symptoms are not refractory to therapy and his headaches do not meet the criteria for a higher rating.

The veteran's claims for increased rating, service connection, and reopening of PTSD and asthma were adjudicated. The decision is mixed: some issues are granted (increased rating for post-traumatic headaches), while others are denied or require further evidence.

The Board has found that the veteran's service-connected memory loss with sleep problems, fatigue, headaches, and spurts of rage contributed substantially or materially to his death from brain cancer. As such, service connection for the cause of the veteran's death is granted.

The veteran's claims for service connection are being remanded due to the need for additional medical examinations and records.

The Board has denied all claims for service connection, as there is no medical evidence linking the claimed conditions to service or a service-connected disability.

The Board found that the veteran's meningioma with headaches is not proximately due to or aggravated by his service-connected meningitis, and thus denied both claims for service connection. The claim for a compensable evaluation for residuals of meningitis was also denied.

The veteran's service connection claims for residuals of a motor vehicle accident, including headaches, degenerative joint disease of the cervical spine, degenerative changes in the lumbar spine, mild joint space narrowing of the bilateral shoulders, and dizziness are granted. The claim for service connection for panic attacks as a residual of a motor vehicle accident is denied.

The Board found that the veteran's current migraine headaches are not related to any injury or disease incurred during his military service.

The veteran is entitled to service connection for headaches as secondary to his service-connected hypertension.

The veteran's claim for service connection for headaches and an acquired psychiatric condition, including PTSD and paranoid schizophrenia, was denied as the evidence did not support a finding of in-service injury or disease resulting in current disabilities.

The Board has determined that the veteran does not have a current diagnosis of a TMJ disability and her claim for service connection is denied. The issue of service connection for migraines remains pending.

The Board has granted a 30 percent rating for the veteran's service-connected headaches, which is the maximum benefit allowed by law.

The veteran's appeals for service connection on the issues of hypertension, headaches, sprain/tendonitis of the left ankle, hearing loss, and respiratory disorder as due to an undiagnosed illness were dismissed because she did not timely file a substantive appeal. The Board does not have jurisdiction over these matters.

The Board has determined that the veteran's claimed conditions of sinusitis with headaches and defective vision were not incurred in or aggravated by active military service.

The Board has determined that the veteran's preexisting migraine headaches did not worsen during his active duty service, and thus he is not entitled to service connection for this condition.

The Board has reopened the veteran's claim for service connection for residuals of a cerebral hemorrhage and headaches, finding that new evidence supports this claim. The Board also found that these residuals are related to service.

The Board denied the veteran's claims for service connection for hypertension, systolic cardiac murmur, PTSD, and post-concussion headaches. The appeals were based on direct evidence of these conditions without any presumption or secondary linkage to a service-connected condition.